Talk about turning a corner! No sooner had I finished writing the last column and picked up my book again, that things got dramatically better. Where the heroes had been wishy-washy and divided, they become courageous and united. Where the villains had been distant and vague, they suddenly snap into nefarious focus. The last third of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers is not only great reading, but it makes what had bordered on tedious totally worthwhile.
For whatever reason, Dumas' characters in this last section seem to leap off the page. I felt like I learned more about these people in the last 200 or so pages than I did in the nearly 400 which came before. It's not just that secrets are revealed either, but we get to see the characters act and react in tense, exciting situations. Of particular note and interest are Athos and Milady, who are linked together by a common past.
SPOILER ALERT: If you are planning on reading The Three Musketeers, you may want to skip down a bit.
Athos has been something of a father figure throughout the novel. He talks less than the others, and is generally the go-to guy when a decision has to be made. This also has the effect of taking him out of much of the action. With the revelation that his young wife, long thought dead by his own hand, is alive and going by the name Milady, he withdraws even more. Like the other characters, however, when the siege of La Rochelle begins in chapters 40-41, Athos comes alive. He takes a more active role in leading the musketeers and becomes determined to help d'Artagnan bring down Milady, especially after she tries to kill the young soldier a couple of times. Ultimately it is Athos leadership, courage and ingenuity which brings about her destruction and d'Artagnan's salvation. Athos becomes the character I hoped he would be: wise, brave, distinguished, and conflicted. It is the last adjective which truly endeared him to me in the end.
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